havronab Member

Hi everyone:) I'm always looking for more friends. I've been on MFP almost a year now and have lost 125+ lbs. A lot of the friends I had on here aren't active anymore, so I'd love to make some new friends to connect with so we can keep each other motivated. :)

I second this one. I've made it numerous times and it tatstes indulgent, but the calories are reasonable.

My overall goal is to lose 150 lbs total (295 to 145 lbs). So far I've lost 125/150. The first 50 lbs came off in 4 months. The second 50 lbs came off in 5 months. I'm projecting that the final 50 lbs will take 6 months (I'm guessing/hoping I will reach my goal by the end of 2017). We'll see how accurate that is!

I had the same experience as you. When I first started losing weight, I could easily eat between 1300-1600 calories per day and not struggle with hunger too much. But as I increased my amount of exercise, I had to up my calories. I especially noticed the increased hunger after I started incorporating weight lifting. At…

Thanks, @AnnPT77 ! That's very helpful to hear. I may very well just be lucky like you. It's hard to wrap my brain around, as I have spent my entire adult life telling myself that I'm unlucky when it comes to my weight (thinking my obesity was due in some part to bad genes, slow metabolism, etc.) when all along it was just…

@cwolfman13 Haha okay, that's good to know. It seems rare to see women eat more than 1200-1500 while losing weight, so I was having a hard time imagining that I could eat so much and continue to lose/maintain. It's helpful to see that it really is possible to eat a large amount of calories without gaining weight back! It's…

Thank you!

My go to on a busy evening is a rotisserie chicken, a Dole chopped salad mix (they have some yummy combos like the sunflower seed crunch or BBQ ranch & I just go light on the dressing) & fresh berries. I just stop by the grocery store on the way home and throw it on the table. Zero effort required, feeds my family of 5 for…

Yeah, thanks for the suggestion. I think that's what I will do when I get to goal (reverse diet). I still have about 25-30 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight. I'm just trying to figure out maintenance to see how much I can eat right now and still lose.

Oh good, I'm glad to hear good things about StrongLifts. I'll probably start there then and if/when I get bored, move on to another program. Hopefully it will help me build some confidence too just being in the free weights area so eventually I can do another program without feeling too intimidated to try new exercises.

Thanks for sharing!! You look fabulous. My starting stats and goals are very similar to yours, so it's very encouraging to see what you have accomplished. Congrats!

I agree with @alondrakayy Maybe review your calorie goals. I lost about 100 lbs years ago very quickly, but was under-eating (1000-1200 cals/day) and losing too quickly. I was obsessed with food and constantly thought of it and also had issues with mood swings and energy. This time around I've committed to eating more…

Thanks, @lemurcat12 That's helpful. I just went through and did some math and more than half of my sugar comes from my fruits/veggies/milk, so I'm probably okay. I don't really want to give up my few daily indulgences, and it doesn't sound like there are any compelling reasons to do so.

I think that's where my confusion comes from. So many would have you believe that sugar is evil, and so many people cut it out all together, so I assumed there would be some good reasons for this.

Yeah, I'm not diabetic and no issues with cravings. So that's good. I wonder how/why the recommended intake is set as it is. I feel like I don't eat *that much* sugary stuff, but I guess it adds up quickly.

Very inspirational!! Thanks for sharing your story!

Amazing job! You look incredible and absolutely should be proud of yourself!! I'm kind of afraid of running, and keep telling myself I'll try doing a couch to 5k when I lose a bit more weight. @shawneelaraye If you don't mind me asking, how much did you weigh when you started running and how difficult was it?

I was going to wait until I reached my goal to post a "success" pic, but what the heck? I'm feeling pretty successful despite not being to my end goal yet! I don't have any pics from my highest weight, but the ones shown are around 270 vs currently 202. HW was 295 and GW is 150ish. So 50+ lbs to go, but it's finally…

I was going to wait until I reached my goal to post a "success" pic, but what the heck? I'm feeling pretty successful despite not being to my end goal yet! I don't have any pics from my highest weight, but the ones shown are around 270 vs currently 202. HW was 295 and GW is 150ish. So 50+ lbs to go, but it's finally…

Yeah, I'm with you guys. I've been morbidly obese my entire adult life with the exception of a brief period when I was in college. I was around 280 for years and then when I was in college I lost 100 lbs. The first 40 without any effort (I studied abroad and was much more active and ate less junk food because the foods I…

I think whatever you can manage without feeling excessively hungry or low-energy. The guidelines shared above are a great starting point, but I adjust based on my hunger cues. When I started, I had 135 lbs to lose to get in a healthy BMI range so I could easily eat at a 1000 cal deficit and usually didn't eat any exercise…

@bizgirl26 Thanks! Great job losing 57 lbs! I also have weeks where I only lose .2 to .8 lbs but then the next week I might lose 3 or more. I have no problem with the non-linear nature of weight loss, but plateaus as I understand them would probably throw me off my game a bit.

Hmmm yeah, I suppose I need to take it with a grain of salt when I see so many complaints of plateaus. I forget that many don't weigh food/log exercise calories with precision which could be the cause of many "plateaus". It's just something I've seen everywhere (on forums, reading magazine articles about weight loss,…

@ElvenToad Wow, awesome! Thanks for sharing. Your starting and goal weights are close to mine, so it's nice to see that it's possible. I know my loss will slow eventually, so I'll have to keep an eye on the overall trend.

Thanks for sharing, I will have to keep all of that in mind.

Hehe yeah the only week I didn't lose was the week of Christmas, but then again I did eat about 4217 Christmas cookies, so I can't really blame that on a plateau lol. I'm so excited seeing everyone's responses! Maybe it's not as common as I thought?

@Chadxx Amazing!! You give me hope!! Do you think you have done anything in particular that has prevented a plateau or just following MFP's calorie goals?

Awesome! Thanks for the input and awesome job losing 100 lbs!

Oh jeez, you're making me blush! ETA: weird my messages keep disappearing or not posting in their entirety. I don't post often so not sure what I'm doing wrong. Anyway... Thank you for the encouragement! I am feeling like I'm mentally prepared for a plateau should I experience one, but of course I'd prefer to avoid it if…

@Blitzia @quiksylver296 Thanks, that's still helpful! Good to know it's possible. Did you guys do anything in particular like varying exercise routine or adjusting calorie intake at all to prevent plateauing or did it just work out that way naturally?